Ju-on: The Grudge (video game)

Ju-on: The Grudge—Haunted House Simulator (also known as Kyōfu Taikan: Juon (恐怖体感 呪怨 lit. Sensation of Fear: Curse Grudge) and Ju-On: The Grudge—A Fright Simulator), is a first-person graphic horror adventure game for Nintendo Wii, developed by Feelplus Inc., directed by Takashi Shimizu, and published in Japan by AQ Interactive on July 30, 2009, and in North America and Europe in October of the same year by Xseed Games and Rising Star Games, respectively.

Yamada family consists of mother Michiko, husband Hiroshi, son Kenji, daughter Erika, and the family dog, Ivy. Hiroshi is a late-night shift security guard at an office building while Kenji is a delivery boy. Yamada family moves to the Saeki house. Soon after moving Miki is attacked by the spirits and is hospitalized. Occasionally, her children and husband go to visit her. One night, all of the staff and patients in the hospital disappear and Michiko wakes up to the phone ringing and sees Toshio running around. She ultimately makes her way to the roof. Toshio pushes her off of the roof, but she manages to hold on. Then, Kayako appears, and pushes her off of the roof, and kills her. Hiroshi sees Kayako wandering around the office on a security camera, and the power goes out. Hiroshi restores the power, and is chased by Kayako throughout the office. She disappears, but just as he's about to exit the office, she appears in front of him and kills him. Ken is on his way home from his delivery route, and sees a package on the sidewalk in front of three derelict apartment buildings. The package is addressed to "Building 3 apartment 301", so he decides to deliver it. When he reaches his destination, the package turns into Kayako. Ken runs for his life while Kayako and Toshio chases him. Ken stops before the exit and turns around to see whether he is being followed, but no one is there. Just as he is about to leave, Kayako appears in front of him and kills him. Ivy meets and follows Toshio into the abandoned factory. Erika goes there to find her, and Kayako locks them inside. Erika finds an elevator, but Toshio breaks it. Erika restores power to elevator and enters it. Ivy runs in and reunites with Erika. Kayako attacks them. Ivy runs off in the darkness, and Kayako kills her. Erika escapes the factory, and calls Michiko, Hiroshi, and Kenji, but no one answers. She wonders what is going on and heads back to Saeki house to find out. Erika makes it to Saeki house and goes inside. Kayako then locks and traps her inside, forcing her to continue exploring the house. Erika sees the ghosts of Michiko, Hiroshi, and Kenji, and finds their bodies in the attic. Kayako attacks her, and Erika falls from the attic. She then hears Ivy's ghostly barking outside, and goes downstairs to investigate, but learns that Ivy's not there as Kayako appears from behind the door, and attacks her again. Kayako crawls down the stairs to Erika, and subdues her with her hair. Kayako then drags Erika up the stairs to the attic, and kills her. The last scene shows Erika dropping the flashlight, which had just ran out of battery. The screen fades to black, and Kayako's death rattle is heard one last time.

The Wii Remote is used to direct the player character's flashlight; however, rather than using the controller's infrared functionality, the games uses the Wii remote's accelerometer to guide the onscreen tool. Movement is executed by the Wii Remote's control pad and B Button, and the character is steered in the direction their flashlight is being held. The player is pressured not to remain in the same place for too long or move too slowly, as this will cause the onryō to appear to the player. If there is a second Wii Remote synced to the console in the game's "courage test", each of the buttons on that controller can be used to trigger a unique scenario for the player to experience. The game also features a mechanic that measures the Wii Remote's movements during gameplay, so that the more the player flinches, the worse their success rate becomes.

In most cases, the flashlight provides the only means of visibility for the player, so it is necessary to replenish the power of the tool using batteries found throughout the level, which do not spawn in the same location with each play. If the flashlight runs out of batteries, the onryo will attack the player which will result in a game-over. This battery power is displayed in the form of a meter on the lower-left corner of the heads-up display and acts like a health bar. If the game's lead specter Kayako Saeki takes hold of the player, the Wii Remote can be shaken to break her grip. Furthermore, when in Kayako's grip, her death rattle can be heard through the Wii Remote's speaker.

A video game adaptation of the Ju-on series was confirmed on May 22, 2009. Shortly afterwards, a demo of the game was unveiled at E3 2009, where Xseed Games described it as a "haunted house simulator," rather than a traditional survival horror game. The game does not feature any combat, as its format relies on subtle exploration and scare tactics. Joystiq reviewers who were present for the demo's screening at the E3 justified this, observing that, "In most horror games, a skilled player can actually defeat the creatures (with notable exceptions like Silent Hill 2's Pyramid Head ...), making the game more of a power fantasy than a true fright. In both of these games [Silent Hill 2 and Ju-on: The Grudge], you can escape the creatures at best."
Xseed president Jun Iwasaki explained, "Ju-on: The Grudge makes quick scares accessible to anyone with a Wii, players can even hand the Wii Remote to their mother and enjoy watching her play and get scared." Rising Star Games' Yen Hau has also likened it to "as close as you can get to an interactive horror movie." Xseed has attested that the game can be completed in "a little less than ten hours." Developers allegedly paid a visit to the location where the Saeki residence scenes were filmed, so they could have a better idea of how to map the house for one of the game's stages.